


cherry flavoured

by cherryjuul



Category: Outer Banks (TV)
Genre: Bad Parenting, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Getting high, Grocery Shopping, Hurt/Comfort, Kooks (Outer Banks), Platonic Cuddling, Pogues (Outer Banks), School, Summer, Texting, Trespassing, physical affection, studying together, the wreck, working
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 15:08:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29653182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherryjuul/pseuds/cherryjuul
Summary: self-indulgent ficbad at writing summaries, it’s just the obx plot with original character with a lot of au’s
Relationships: JJ (Outer Banks)/Original Female Character(s), Sarah Cameron/John B. Routledge
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. introduction

**LUCRETIA CRYSTAL ALICE** was a walking angel, that's what everyone saw her as. Always so nice to everyone, helped people as much as she could and never says no to anyone. She always saw good in people, even if they hurt her in any type of way, she was all about forgive and forget. Everyone loved her, even the Kooks. Nobody could ever hate her. Even with a dead dad and bitch of a mom, she didn't back down from being a good person.

She did have a wild side, she preached the phrase "you only live once" and lived everyday as if it was the last. She loved the feeling of the adrenaline rushing through her veins. Getting high was like a sport for her. She broke the law a lot but never got caught and always got away with it and having a wild friend group meant breaking the law every other day.

 **JOHN B ROUTLEDGE** was the first person she became friends with, both of their dad's being friends meant seeing eachother every other day.

Less of bestfriends and more of siblings, they've had eachother's backs since day one. And not wanting to face the wrath of her mother every other say, Lucretia practically lived at the Chateau. That meant sleepovers all the time and after her dad passed away Big John was the only father figure in her life so he treated her like his own daughter. Lucretia always kept John B in check, making him clean his room (even though most of the times, he gave her puppy dog eyes and she cleaned it for him). She made bracelets for him and he gave her his bandanas. The two play fought sometimes like every other siblings. It was always John B and Lucretia but after a while the two became three.

 **JJ MAYBANK** was the most reckless, short-tempered but at the same time the softest and the most selfless guy Lucretia had ever met. He's the only person who for some weird reason calls her Crystal. They met in third grade at the playground in school when Lucretia fell off the swings because she was trying to see how high she can get but lost her balance and crash landed. JJ helped her clean up the cuts and Lucretia in return asked him to sit with her and John B at lunch. Since then the trio has been inseparable. JJ and her are probably the most affectionate ones in the group but only to eachother, maybe because they lack the love they should get at their respective homes but never did. Getting high together on the hammock and stargazing was their thing. They did that almost every night, sometimes even fell asleep on the hammock, cuddled up together. They knew eachother's deepest and darkest secrets that literally no one knew, not even John B.

 **KIARA CARRERA** was the only girl in the group besides Lucretia which meant that the two girls were closer than ever. From making friendship bracelets to applying face masks on girl's night, both of the girls absolutely loved spending time together. Whenever all the testosterone got too much, the girls would just go out on the docks, dip their feet in the water and talked about the random-est things. Kie actually got Lucretia a job at The Wreck so they could have shifts together and keep eachother company. They always went to eachother for any advice because both of them knew one another better than anyone else. Without Kie, Lucretia would've probably drowned herself from the amount of headaches the guys gave her.

 **POPE HEYWARD** was the most genius person Lucretia knew, which is why he was her free personal tutor. She absolutely sucked at Math and whenever she got a bad grade at it, her mother would go nuts. So Pope offered to teach her, which she not so happily accepted. Without him, she probably would've never passed school. She loved asking him random knowledge questions and was always amazed by the amount of intelligence he had. He was the level-headed, responsible one of the group, if it wasn't for him, the crew would've been rotting in jail.

She loved all of them with all her heart. It was no secret that this girl was an angel. Talk shit about her for all you want, she'll never fight you but if you say one bad word about any of her friends, you're not going home without a bruise on your face. It was evident that she was very protective over them.

It was her friends that kept her going every single day and she knew that they would always be there for her.


	2. one week till summer

One week.

That's what everyone was chanting in their heads to get through the day.

One week till school's over.

One week till they have the summer's of their lives.

Lucretia was walking down the hall to her locker after the bell had rung. The last class of the day had just ended and all of the students were in a hurry to leave the premises. She sighed as she opened her locker to put away her books and take the ones she needed. School was evidently taking a toll on her, with all the assignments and pop quizzes, her mind was gonna burst with the amount of things she had to keep in mind. She wasn't that good at school, she did good in some subjects but in others, not so much, mainly Math and Chemistry. She didn't understand a single thing in it. And to her luck, she had a math test the next day, the nerves had already kicked in. She would've just said 'fuck it' a long time ago but the school liked to snitch on her to her mother whenever she failed quizzes or tests in a row. And much to her dismay, she had already failed the last two. She couldn't fail the next one because her mother would go absolute nuts on her and she simply wasn't in a mood to get her head bitten off.

As she was taking out her books, her mind just wandered to the summer break. Surfing, getting high, not caring about homework and tests. She just wanted to make the best out of this summer or as John B said "we're gonna have a good time, all the time."

She slammed her locker shut, her books still in her hand.

"BOO!"

"AH!" she shrieked and jumped as she dropped the books she was holding.

She quickly looked around to see if anyone saw her embarrass herself and sighed in relief when no one payed attention, everyone too busy to get out of the school. She bent down to pick up her books and looked up to see who the intruder was.

"JJ, what the hell is your problem? How many times have I told you—"

"—to not scare you like that, yeah I know but it's very funny to see your face when I do so." he said as he helped her pick up her books. They both got up and Lucretia crossed her arms and leaned against the locker with a questionable look in her eyes.

"So what do you want? I mean we usually meet outside after school ends....." she trailed off, curiosity in her tone. "Well, I wanted to ask you something but I also wanted to walk out with you." he said with a flirty tone, putting a hand beside her head and stepping closer to her.

"Shut up, What did you want to ask me?" She questioned putting his flirting to an end but not stepping away from him. "That....if you wanted to come surf with me, JB and Pope tonight?" he asked her, raising his eyebrows. Her face lit up and she jumped in her place a little before answering, "Dude, why are you even asking in the first place?"

But the realisation hit her and her face fell a little, JJ noticed and asked her, "What's wrong?" Her shoulders slumped as she sighed. "As much as I would love to go with you guys but I've got a Math test tomorrow and I've already failed the last two so if I fail this one, they'll call my mom and I'm not in the mood for getting my head bitten off."

"C'mon Crys, please?" he pleaded stretching out the 'please'. "J, you know I can't and also you have to leave Pope out too cause I don't understand shit and he's, well, the only one that can help me" she said shrugging her shoulders.

"Ugh, fine! Now let's go, John B and Pope are waiting for us outside." He leaned back and took the books from her hands, holding it in his hands as they started walking towards the door.

"This is such bullshit, man. Can I just fuckin' drop out already?" Lucretia exclaimed while pushing the double doors with her body. The sunlight hit them in their face. They blinked a couple of times to adjust to the lighting.

"There's not a single day that goes by where you don't say that." JJ answered while walking towards the twinkie. "Hey dumbasses! We don't have all day, some people have places to go" John B shouted from the van as they came into view. Both of them rolled their eyes and groaned after picking up the pace and reached the van. Lucretia sat up front on the passenger seat while JJ got in the back with Pope who was already sitting there reading a text book.

"Hey losers, how was your day?" Lucretia asked both, Pope and John B. "Great." answered Pope, not looking up from the book. "Eh, it was school what do you expect?" John B said as they left the school grounds.

"So Lucy, you comin' with us tonight?" John B asked her, his eyes focused on the road. "Nah, dude, I gotta study tonight, which reminds me...." she said while turning her body to face the back. "Pope, you mind ditching them to help me with Math?" she asked Pope with a sweet tone.

"When do I ever say no to you, Lu? Plus I would pick you over these idiots any time of the day." he answered her, closing his text book and keeping it inside his backpack. "Hey! I'm offended," JJ said with a playful smile on his face.

"Dude, I'm way more fun to hangout with than you and you know it." she said looking at JJ then turning back, facing the front. "Man, I can't wait for summer." she sighed, kicking her feet up on the dashboard, leaning back on the seat and closing her eyes.

"One more week, baby, then it's the summer of our lives." JJ said from the back while leaning back in his seat as well.

"This summer will be legendary." Pope said looking at John B from the rear-view mirror, motioning him to say something.

"Yeah man, after all, we're gonna have a good time...." he trailed off, expecting the others to finish the sentence. "All the time!!" the rest of them chorused together and laughed.

—

Pope and Lucretia were sitting on the couch at the shed outside the Chateau. JJ and John B left the two and went surfing saying that they'll be back in an hour or two.

"Dude, I don't understand shit!"

Pope was trying to explain simultaneous equations to her which was completely going over her head.

"Look it's easy, you solve both the given equations separately then bring them together and solve it." he tried to explain it to her in the simplest way possible. "You get it? Now try again." he encouraged her.

She took a deep breath and released, "Okay, um....this goes here, then add this....with..and now the second one....now bring them both together and....done!" she mumbled as she solved the sum and handed it over to him for him to check if it's correct or not.

"It's correct! Now solve the ones I've marked in your textbook, it'll take about an hour then I'll check your answers."

She looked through the sums he marked and groaned loudly, "I will literally fucking die doing all this shit."

"Stop being so dramatic Lu, Math is not going to kill you." Pope laughed at her antics.

"Do you know if Kie's coming over tonight?" She asked him while starting her work.

"Probably not, she'll mostly come over when summer starts or something, she told me that the Kook Academy gives a shit ton of assignments."

She hummed then looked over to him, "What are you gonna do while I solve this?"

"Scholarship essay."

"Right, how did I forget?" She chuckled, turning her attention back to the books infront of her.

An hour passed in silence, only the sound of scribbling of pencils against paper being heard. Pope went to sit on the porch so he could focus on his essay without disturbing Lucretia with his mumbling.

The sound of the twinkie's tires crunching against the ground snapped Pope out of his concentration while Lucretia was too engrossed in solving the sums that she tried so hard understand.

John B and JJ climbed out of the van, their hair slightly damp from the saltwater. Both of them talking about some surfing stunt JJ pulled off on the water.

Pope climbed down the porch steps and went towards them. "How was surfing?" he asked as he stopped infront of them. "Great dude! JJ did a sick rodeo flip!" John B exclaimed as he unstrapped their boards from the van.

"Yeah dude! You missed out." JJ grinned as he helped John B.

"Eh, It's fine, at least I helped Lu with Math." he shrugged his shoulders and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his pants.

"Where is she, by the way? I gotta rub it on her face that I did a rodeo flip!" JJ bounced with excitement.

"Don't disturb her, man. She's in the zone right now." Pope warned, "She told me that she'll call me over when she's done so let her be." As soon as he finished the sentence there was a shout.

"Pope! I completed this shit!"

"Talk about timing." The three of them laughed and went over to the shed.

Lucretia stood up from the couch and stretched her body which was kinda sore from sitting in one position for so long. The boys took a seat on the couch. Pope checking her sums while the other two leaned back in their place.

"Hey Lucy!" "Hey Crys!" Both of them said at the same time. "Hey losers! How was surfing?" She asked them, taking a seat on the table infront of the couch, facing them. "It was great! Not to brag or anything but I did a rodeo flip. Unlike you, how was studying?" JJ teased her with an innocent smile.

"You're trying to brag and we all know it and do you seriously think I enjoy doing this?" She gave him an annoyed look.

JJ went to open his mouth but was cut off by Pope, "It's all correct! Surprisingly." he exclaimed, mumbling the last part so nobody heard him.

"Wait what? Seriously?" She asked.

"Yeah! You're gonna ace tomorrow's test!" Pope encouraged her.

Lucretia sighed in relief and laughed, "Atleast giving up surfing for this shit was not for nothing."

"So, what do y'all wanna do? Should I text Kie to see if she's free or not?" She asked them, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, text her." JJ said.

"Also, ask her if she can bring some food from The Wreck 'cause we're out of food." John B said with a sigh.

"Jesus! How much do y'all eat, dude?" She exclaimed and sighed. "I'll go grocery shopping today, fine?" John B grinned and shot her a thumbs up.

"Well, I'm gonna go home or else my dad will whoop my ass. And it's getting dark anyway." Pope said, standing up and picking up his bag from the table, starting to walk away.

"Bye Pope, thanks for your help! Love you!" She said blowing a kiss towards him.

"Love you too!"

"I'll drop you off." John B offered, standing up from the couch and both of them walking to the twinkie.

Lucretia sighed, slumping her shoulders, standing up from the table and dropping next to JJ on the couch.

"How was your day?" She asked him, turning her head to look up at him. "Great! The rodeo fli—" "Except for the rodeo flip." She cut him off, rolling her eyes.

"It was okay, a little boring but summer's starting soon so I'm excited 'bout that." He said while nodding this head. "How was yours?" He looked at her.

"Was this close to jumping in the water and drowning while doing Math but atleast I understand the lesson for tomorrow's test now so that's that." He chuckled and gently pulled her closer by the waist and started playing with her hair. She laid her head on his chest and held his right hand, playing with his rings. "You'll do great tomorrow." He said kissing her hair lightly. She hummed "Thanks, also, I miss Kie. Lemme text her." She pulled out her phone from her front pocket and opened iMessage. JJ, who was looking down at her phone, smiled when he saw the lockscreen which was a selfie of them on the hammock, smoke coming out of their mouths.

**kie baby 🧚🏻♀️🦋✨**

**Today, 5:47PM**

are you coming over today?

i miss you 🥺

i miss you too 🥺 and the guys :(

but i cant come over, got a lot of tests this week to study for but i'll obviously come when summer starts <3

how u doin' btw? with all the kooklandia bs?

honestly? not that good

i hate it here

but i can survive for one more week

THEN SUMMERTIME !!! 🥳🥳🥳

yeah, can't fucking wait for summer, dude

well, i gtg

gotta buy some groceries for the chateau

also, do we have any shifts this week ?

u got one tmr and unfortunately i won't be keeping u company cuz mom's making me run some errands :(

aw, it's fine ! can't wait to see you when summer starts !

love you baby <333

me too !

love you more <3

"So we're not seeing Kie till summer starts." She sighed and closed her phone, resting it on her stomach. "Dude, not gonna lie but I lowkey miss her environment rants." JJ said and she chuckled, humming in agreement, cuddling into him more. He held her tightly and kept running his hand through her hair.

"J, if you keep doing that, I might fall asleep and I need to go grocery shopping." She complained but still making no moves to get up from the comfortable position.

He laughed and pulled his hand from her hair. She painfully detached herself from him and sat up straight on the coach, running a hand through her hair. "You wanna come with me? Or are you gonna stay?"

"'Course I'm coming with you. What kinda question is that?" He chuckled and got up, pulling her up as well. "But with what money are we going grocery shopping?" He retorted.

"I have some left from my last pay check so we can spend that." She answered and walked towards the Chateau, pulling him with her.

"Can you grab my wallet from our room? I'm gonna write JB a note." He nodded and went inside their room.

Lucretia grimaced at the mess the boys have made after she cleaned up literally a week ago. Making a mental note to clean up later today, she grabbed a sticky note and a pen from the kitchen drawer and wrote him a note.

**jj and i went to buy groceries, we'll be back in an hour or two, if you need anything just text me, love you <3**

She took the note and sticked it on the front door so John B can't miss it and waited on the porch steps for JJ to come out.

He came out with her wallet in his hands and walked out the front door, closing it behind him. "C'mon let's go. Are we walking?"

"Obviously." She answered as they both started walking towards the grocery store, talking about whatever came to their minds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so we're done with chapter one, took me like three days to complete it, it's kinda boring but i just wanted to write about them before the actual plot starts. i'm gonna write another chapter of them before the plot then time jump to the beginning of summer !!
> 
> hope y'all liked it <3


	3. hammock and cuddles

It was dark by the time Lucretia and JJ finished shopping. They were walking back home, both their hands filling with grocery bags, playing 'would you rather'.

"Okay, uhh would you rather, this is a tricky one so think and answer." She looked at him while laughing and gave him a teasing pointy look to which he only nodded.

"So, would you rather, have free weed for the rest of your life but.....you can only talk to me once a month or...me but no free weed?"

"Obviously the second option." He answered without thinking twice. "What? I thought you'd choose free weed." She teased him.

"Dude, I can't go a day without talking to you. You think I can last a month?" He retorted, shaking his head.

"True, true. It's your turn now."

"Okay, payback, would you rather have me for the rest of your life or.....marry Dylan O'Brien?" He smirked, raising one eyebrow towards her.

"Dude!! What the hell?" She whined. "That's a tough question but....I'm leaving Dylan for you so better be grateful."

"Wow, I didn't expect that because of your unhealthy obsession with him."

"Believe it or not, I'm gonna leave all my fantasy guys and girls, just for you." She lightly flirted and started walking backwards so she could face him properly.

Lucretia struggled with her sexuality for a long time, she started getting confused at the age of 13, just internally battling with herself and at the age of 16 she realized that she was bisexual. It scared her, a lot. She thought that no one would accept her or would look at her differently but she made up the courage and thought to talk about it with the person she trusted the most, JJ, no offence to John B. She was buzzing with nerves and almost had a panic attack but she just needed to get it off of her chest. She just blurted it out one day, a couple of months ago while she was sitting on the dock at the Chateau with JJ, watching the sunset. He was silent for sometime, the fear growing inside of her thinking that he wouldn't accept her but then he tackled her into a hug and he held her for two minutes straight, he told her that he loved her and was proud of her, nothing could ever change that. After hearing him say that, she started crying and rambled about all the struggles she was going through and he just told her that crew wouldn't judge her, at all. So with the help of JJ, she came out to the Pogues and all of them just gave her a hug and told her that they loved her. She was super grateful for her frien— her family.

Another fifteen minutes passed, both of them just goofing around till they reached the Chateau. They noticed the van outside indicating that John B was back.

They opened the front door and entered the house, setting the grocery bags on the kitchen counter. "Hey JB! We come bearing gifts!" Lucretia called out, starting to unpack the groceries.

John B came rushing out, only in his khaki shorts and a bandana around his neck. The boys practically lived in those and Lucretia was used to it. He drummed his hands against the counter, eyeing every item she took out of the bag while JJ started putting them away.

"Did you buy—"

She cut him off. "Yes, I bought your favourite cereal, also the cookies and the chocolate bites you love so much."

John B beamed and gave her an obnoxious hug swinging her, side to side. "You know me so well, thank you!"

She ripped her body off from his, a small smile playing on her lips but trying to look annoyed. "Your welcome but if you do that shit again I will quit doing grocery shopping." She gave him a teasing pointed look and continued to arrange the groceries.

"What time is it?" JJ spoke up.

"A little above nine. Why?" John B answered while eating a chocolate bite that he picked up from the bag.

"Crys and I gotta go out on the hammock." JJ explained, scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah, yeah, just please don't get high, we got school tomorrow." John B warned them, helping them put the groceries away.

After a while they finished unpacking and John B went inside his room, ready to sleep.

JJ was already outside, lying on the hammock while Lucretia changed into her PJ's which consisted of JJ's t-shirt and some cotton shorts. She tied her hair up messily into a ponytail, washed her face and walked outside the Chateau before grabbing a blanket from the shared room because she was pretty sure that they were gonna fall asleep on the hammock.

JJ sat up a little when he heard footsteps approaching. He shifted to one side, making some space for her to lay comfortably, Lucretia got in beside him, setting the folded blanket by his legs then immediately wrapping her arm around his waist and laying her head on his chest. He started playing with her hair while his other hand rested on her arm which was around his waist.

She sighed in content and flickered her eyes up to the sky, gasping softly. No matter how many times she has seen the view, she's always mesmerized by it. JJ looked down, smiling gently just admiring her under the starlight.

"I'm never gonna get enough of this." Lucretia said while gazing the stars.

"Same." JJ replied, not even looking at the sky.

Lucretia, obviously oblivious to that action, cuddled more into him before sighing, "Man, just one more week then we'll be getting high everyday. My god, I can't fuckin' wait."

"No more waking up early, dude!" JJ exclaimed. She chuckled and tiredly yawned.

"Go to sleep, Crys. Big day tomorrow." He teased and sat up slightly, draping the blanket on both of them, pulling her as close as possible. She just sleepily mumbled a 'fuck you' and dozed off.

JJ, not-so-creepily, admired her sleeping figure before kissing her forehead lightly and dozing off as well.

—

Lucretia pushed the double doors of the school open, smiling widely as she rushed to the spot where the twinkie was parked. The last class of the day had just ended and she couldn't be more happy, for multiple reasons.

She walked swiftly towards the van. John B was in the driver's seat as usual, leaning back with his hands behind his head and eyes closed. JJ was sitting in the front seat with the door opened and his legs dangling outside. He was talking to Pope who was standing infront of him with his back towards Lucretia. As she almost reached the van, she saw Pope's back towards her and she sprinted and tackled him in a hug from the back.

Pope, as anyone would, squealed slightly from the sudden movement. JJ just looked confused and John B opened his eyes from Pope's squeal.

"Thankyou! Thankyou! Thankyou!" She kept repeating while still not letting go of him. JJ and John B just sat back and watched them, amusement clear on their faces.

Pope laughed and finally set him free from her deadly grasp and turned around to face her and asked, "What for?"

"For teaching me yesterday! Dude! I understood every single question like can you imagine? I won't fail!" She exclaimed, smiling widely and jumped a little.

The other three just looked at the beaming girl happily, their somewhat gloomy mood's instantly getting better. She was a literal human form of sunshine and whenever she was around, she somehow managed to make everyone happy.

"C'mon you goof, get in the van. You have work in two hours, remember?" John B reminded her and she quickly nodded and got in the van, the rest followed. Pope and Lucretia in the back while JJ sat up front.

Lucretia kept rambling about the test and how she couldn't believe understood everything and Pope being Pope gave her a big sentimental speech about how she worked hard for it and if she worked hard for anything she would be able to go places and all that crap. It resulted in chorused groans from the other three and the music being turned up loud, from the crappy car speakers. 

No one really talked after that, everyone lost in their own little worlds.

Lucretia rested her head against her arm while slightly leaning outside the window, embracing the wind blowing her hair back. She closed her eyes, simply vibing with the song blasting through the car speakers or more like feeling like she was in a music video. Letting out a small chuckle at the thought, she sighed in content, getting lost in her thoughts about making the best out of this summer.

—

Lucretia emerged from the bedroom her and JJ shared in her work clothes, contemplating whether to ask the boys for a ride or just walk all the way to Figure 8. She was shocked to say atleast when she saw the boys in the living room, studying.

JJ was sitting on the kitchen counter with a book in his lap, scribbling something on it, a pencil in his hand while John B was laying on the pullout coach on his stomach, his elbows supporting him to stay upright as he read from a book infront of him.

"Are y'all actually studying?" She broke them out of their focus, both of them alarmed from the sudden noise breaking the silence. They looked at her sheepishly, grinning slightly.

"We were just bored and thought that we'll study for a bit." JJ answered for both of them, scratching the back of his neck.

"It's nothing to embarrassed about. I'm actually kinda proud that you guys are taking an effort." She said, her mom side coming out. "Anyway, as much as I would love to stay and chat, I've got work so farewell, my good lords."

She gave them a two-finger salute and started walking towards the front door, only to be stopped by JJ.

"How are you going?" He asked.

"Walking." She answered in an obvious tone, it wasn't like she had her own mode of transportation.

"I'll drop you off." He closed his books, jumping off of the counter, taking out the keys to his dirt-bike from his pocket.

"You don't have to-"

"Bold of you to assume that I was asking." He cut her off, bopping her nose with his pointer finger and walked out of the Chateau, leaving her a little flustered.

"You've got him whipped." John B commented who watched the whole encounter.

"Shut up JB, we're just friends." She scoffed and rolled her eyes at him.

"Just friends? My ass! Dude! Anyone who's from the outside thinks y'all are dating plus do you see the way he looks at you? or the way you look at him? Man! Get married already!" He exclaimed, flaring his arms in the air to prove his point.

"It's nothing like that!" She groaned. "Also, what about No Pogue-on-Pogue? You're the one who made the rule!"

"You and JJ are the exception, ofcourse." He smiled innocently at her.

She rolled her eyes yet again about to answer him but JJ's shout from outside the Chateau cut her off, "Crystal! How much longer?"

Lucretia took that as a chance to escape the conversation, she clearly did not want to have with anyone but Kie.

"Coming!" She yelled back and hurriedly left, barely saying goodbye to John B on the way out.

She was terrified of anyone except for Kie finding out about her feelings for JJ. She has liked him for as long as she can remember. To be exact, she developed a minor crush on him at the age of 10 when he made a friendship bracelet for her even though he had never made one before in his entire life, just because she was sad and he wanted to cheer her up. Lucretia made a matching one for him so they could match, neither of them have taken it off ever since. She thought it was just a phase, a little attraction but the feeling never went away. A little crush turned into falling for him, hard. The only person who knew about her feelings was Kie because she just had to get it off of her chest and Kie was the only person she could trust with this kind of secret. She had told her numerousamount of times to just tell JJ about how she felt because even a blind person could tell that the both of them had feelings for eachother but Lucretia was blinded by her own insecurities to even think about him finding out. None of them had a single clue about her feelings for JJ, or so she thought.

"Thought you like, died or something." JJ joked as she came into his view and handed her a helmet as she sat behind him. She laid her head on his back and wrapped her arms around his waist, holding onto him tightly.

"Just go, doofus." She laughed and tightened her grip on him, preparing for his reckless driving.

—

The bike skid to a stop outside The Wreck. Lucretia got off the bike and took her helmet off, running her hand through her hair a couple of times.

"When are you gonna finish?" He asked as she handed him the helmet.

"I think I'll have to stay till closing time, I don't know, why?"

"So I can pick you up." He stated in an obvious tone.

"You don't have to, you know. I can walk."

"There's no way in hell I'm letting you walk all the way to The Cut at night." He protested.

"Okay, fine, I'll call you, thanks for the ride." She finally gave in and huffed, leaning in and kissing his cheek.

"You know if this is what I get everytime I give you a ride, I might become your personal chauffeur." He commented as she walked towards the entrance. She laughed, turning towards him, walking backwards and blew him a kiss. He pretended to catch and pocket it, then drove off before waving her one last time.

Lucretia entered The Wreck, smiling to herself, walking over to where the aprons were kept and took hers, tying it around her neck and back.

"Hey Mr. C!" She greeted her boss as she went over to the front counter.

"Lucretia! Hey kiddo, C'mere." He gave a brief hug to the girl who was like a second daughter to him. She chuckled as she pulled back. "How you doing, kid?"

"I'm doing great, you know, last week of school and all that jazz." She replied. "How you doing?"

"I'm good, I'm good." He nodded. "Listen, I wouldn't have scheduled you today cause I know how the school gets at the last week but Quinn quit yesterday so you were the only one who I could call, in such a short notice."

"It's fine. I didn't have much to do today, anyway." She shrugged her shoulders as the bell on the entrance door chimed.

"Alright, I think it's gonna be pretty busy today, so start with taking orders." He instructed her and went back to his work before patting her shoulder twice.

She grabbed her little notepad from her apron pocket and walked up to table where the new customers had just arrived.

"Hi, I'm Lucretia and I'll be your waitress for tonight, what can I get for you?"

—

It was 10pm by the time the last customers entered. The restaurant was about to close but her boss said that they can manage one more order.

She looked up from the register to see who had just arrived and it was none other than Rafe Cameron and his two goonies. She slightly tensed at their presence, particularly Rafe's but she knew she had to serve them since all the employees had left and she was the only one there.

She took a deep breath and walked to their table, "Hi, what can I get for you?" She spoke in a monotonous voice, looking up from her notepad but avoiding maintaining eye contact with them.

"Three fries and two cokes." Rafe replied, trailing his eyes around her body and smirking.

Lucretia held back a gag and gave him a sweet, sarcastic smile. "I'll be right back."

She rolled her eyes as soon as she wasn't in the view and shakily released a breath. She gave the order in the kitchen and waited by the counter for the order to be given to her so she could serve it.

After five painfully slow minutes, it was done and she took the tray and went over to their table and set the food and drinks down. "Anything else?" She huffed.

"No, no. We're okay. By the way, how've you been, Lucretia? I haven't heard from you in so long." Rafe said propping his elbow on the table and resting his chin on his hand, an innocent smile on his face, sending her to the edge.

"I'm being civil with you because I have to, Rafe. If it was my way, I would've beat the shit outta you a long time ago, asshole." She spat walking away from them towards the front counter, sending daggers to the back of his head.

Since it was the last order, she took off her apron a little aggressively and put it in its designated place. She gritted her teeth and clenched her jaw, trying to control her anger. She normally doesn't get this worked up in any situation but Rafe Cameron was a story for some other time.

"Lucretia, you're done for the day. You can leave now." Mr. Carerra told her as he came out of the kitchen. "How're you going?"

"JJ is picking me up." She said taking her phone out of her back pocket, ready to call her ride.

"Okay, stay safe. G'night, kid." He patted her hair and went back in the kitchen, waiting for the last customers to leave so he could close for the night.

She sighed and called JJ, it ringed twice before he picked up the phone.

"Hey, J! I'm finished, can you come pick me up?"

"Yeah, ofcourse, I'll be there in five." he said and hung up.

Lucretia went outside The Wreck to wait for him, scrolling through her social media to pass the time. She looked up when she heard the engine of JJ's dirt bike.

"Hey Crys, how was work?" he asked as he stopped infront of her, taking off his helmet.

"It was okay, I just wanna go to sleep." She answered, climbing on the back seat and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Let's go please, I'm exhausted."

He didn't say anything, just drove off. Lucretia closed her eyes and rested her head on his back, slightly dozing off.

They arrived at the Chateau a few minutes later. JJ turned the bike off, took off his helmet and went to get down from it but he still felt the weight on his back. "Crystal?" He slightly turned around just to see her asleep. He softly smiled and slowly turned around so that her arms were now hugging his waist from the front. He picked her up by her thighs and took her inside carefully, not wanting to wake her up.

He walked in and saw John B in the kitchen on his phone who looked up from the sound of footsteps approaching. He went to say something but JJ put a finger on his own lips and pointed to Lucretia in his arms indicating that she was asleep. He went inside to their shared room and gently put her down on the bed and pulled a blanket over her, taking a hair tie from the nightstand and slowly took her hair out from under her neck and tied it up, knowing that she didn't like to sleep with her hair down because it got too knotty in the morning, softly kissing her forehead, he left the room.

John B gave JJ a knowing look as he walked into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water, opening it, he went to take a sip but stopped when he saw John B looking at him.

"What?" He raised his eyebrow at him.

"You know what." John B stated with an obvious tone. JJ gave him a questioning look in return.

John B sighed, "Dude! You and Lucy aren't fooling anyone but yourselves with all that sneaky looks you both give eachother like damn just admit it already, we've all seen it coming."

"I don't like Crystal like that." He replied nervously, putting the bottle on the counter, avoiding eye contact with him.

"Deny it for all you want, man. But you've got deep feelings for her and you know it." He gave him a pointed look, trying to break him.

JJ sighed in defeat, "Okay! Fine! I have feelings for her but I'm not telling her."

"Why?!"

"Because man, she deserves so much better than me. I can't give her everything she wants plus it's not like she feels the same anyway." He said, shrugging his shoulders, dropping his eyes to the ground.

"Both of you are just too deep inside your own heads to release that you are meant to be, like literally everyone can tell that and man, trust me when I tell you this. She only wants you. She doesn't want any Kook who can buy her shit, she only has eyes for you, dude. She looks at you like you hung up stars or some shit. All I know is that she's scared of commitment and you're scared of admitting your feelings. I'm not forcing you to tell her or anything, dude. I'm just saying y'all are wasting time waiting around, take a risk, man. You'll be happy afterwards." He sighed, shaking his head. "Just think about it."

He went to his room without another word. JJ stood there processing John B's words. He shook his head after a few minutes then went inside his and Lucretia's bedroom before changing into his pajamas in the bathroom.

He laid down on the bed gently, careful not to wake her up and pulled the blanket over his body. As if she sensed his presence, she turned around, still sound asleep and cuddled into his chest, soft snores leaving her mouth. JJ smiled softly at the gesture and put his arm around her waist, pulling her closer and closed his eyes and sighed in content.

His mind still wandered to what John B said, he opened his eyes slightly and looked down at her sleeping figure. He almost gave in to the thought that he actually should admit it to her but

_She was a gem and he didn't want to lose her._


	4. the beginning of summer

**ONE WEEK LATER**

The crew minus Kie was whooping in excitement as they drove off of the school parking lot, everyone was ecstatic as school was officially over and summer was here. Music was blasting through the car speakers and they were screaming the lyrics on top of their lungs.

John B was tapping his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the song. Pope was sitting beside him, on the passenger seat, laughing at JJ and Lucretia who were sitting on the floor in the back facing eachother, their faces practically touching. They were singing, technically screaming, to the other's face, grinning so widely that their cheeks hurt.

After a few minutes, John B parked the van outside the Chateau and all of them jumped out of the van. He stopped and opened his arms, dramatically taking a deep breath, "So this is what freedom feels like!"

Lucretia snorted, hitting the back of his head, "C'mon dumbass, let's keep our stuff then pick up Kie please, I don't know how much longer I can handle y'all."

"Consider me as an angel in disguise, my love." A voice called out from the front porch.

Lucretia turned around in the speed of lightning. "OHMYGOD KIE!" She screamed and took off running towards the other girl and tackled her into a hug, making both of them fall to the ground but neither of them made me a move to get up.

Both of them were laughing, holding onto eachother as tight as they could. The boys shook their heads at their antics and helped them up.

Lucretia pulled Kie into another hug, this one a lot less aggressive than before. "I missed you so much, bub."

"Me too, baby." She replied, burying her head in the shorter girl's shoulder and swayed them slightly. "Get in, losers."

The boys didn't hesitate to wrap their arms around the two girls, sandwiching them.

All of them stayed like that for a minute just taking the moment in then pulled away.

"So captain, what's our first adventure?" Lucretia asked John B, raising her eyebrows at him mischievously.

"I already have everything planned, Lucy." He replied wrapping an arm around her shoulders and started walking towards the van, nodding his head towards the others, motioning them to follow.

"And what exactly have you planned? Also don't hit me with the good-time-all-the-time bullshit." She shot back as she got into the passenger seat. The others got in the back and John B started the van, driving away.

"First, we are going to a construction site in Figure 8, then the first fishing trip of the summer and ending the day with a party at the Chateau." He explained.

"A party on the first day of summer?" Pope asked with a judgy tone.

"Cmon dude, lighten up, it's summer!" JJ retorted as he popped open a beer.

"Exactly Pope. I'm gonna get the word out for the party." Kie said, taking out her phone from her back pocket and typing away.

"So where's this construction site? And is it illegal? I mean are we trespassing?" Lucretia questioned John B.

"On the edge of Figure 8 and I think it's a given by now." He chuckled and shook his head. She hummed in answer, "Yeah I miss Gary anyway so."

—

"That's what a three-story fall to the deck? I give you about a one-in-three chance of survival." Pope said as John B stood on the edge of the roof with one foot in the air.

"Hm, should I do it?" John B asked playfully before sticking his finger in his mouth and lifting it in the air.

"Yeah jump, and if you die I call dibs on all your bandanas." Lucretia called back before taking a sip of her Coke.

"Yeah, you should jump, I'll shoot you on the way down." Pope said pointing the drill gun towards him.

"You gonna shoot me?" John B chuckled mockingly, making finger guns and shooting Pope with it.

Lucretia rolled her eyes playfully at his childishness and nudged JJ, a big grin covering her face. "You do know that we can get high tonight, right?"

"I'm well aware." He said, smiling back at her, excitement evident in his tone. "I've already got joints ready to be lit but we gotta wait till we go fishing cause we can be busted here anytime."

"I can't wait."

Just as she said that, Kie came out of the house, pretty irritated, "They're gonna have Japanese toilets with towel warmers." she scoffed and walked towards the front.

"Ofcourse they are, why wouldn't they?"

"This used to be a turtle habitat but who cares about the turtles, I guess?" she questioned before looking up at John B.

"I can't have cold towels." JJ whined sarcastically.

"Can you please not kill yourself?" Kie called out to John B.

"Dude, we're talking to Mr. John Booker Routledge here." Lucretia retorted as JJ yelled up at him, "Don't spill that beer, I'm not giving you another one."

"Ten bucks, he spills it." Lucretia whispered in JJ's ear.

"You better keep that money ready." He whispered back, having some faith in his friend.

Right after he said it, John B lost his balance and dropped his beer, "Whoa! Oh, shit!"

"Ofcourse, he did."

"Smooth."

"A-plus"

"Hah, I know him too well, c'mon pay up" She laughed and held out her hand towards JJ as he groaned annoyingly, placing a ten dollar bill on her outstretched hand which she stuffed it in the pocket of her shorts.

"Just so you know, you owe me $10 for having faith in you." He said to the brunette on the roof.

John B gave him a playful glare and went to say something but got cut off by Pope. "Hey, uh, security's here. Let's wrap it up."

"Boys are early today." John B said, sliding down the roof.

"Humpty Dumpty, let's roll!" JJ drummed his hands on his thighs and stood up, reaching down and grabbing Lucretia's hands, pulling her up.

The trio quickly climbed down the scaffolding, whooping.

"Let's go boys." Kie said, "And girl." Lucretia called out, jumping on the deck.

"Gary is that you?" She chuckled, hitting the back of his head and pushed his back lightly motioning him forward. "Let's go, dumbass."

"Gary, good to see you." He said, leaning out from the ledge, teasing the security guard.

"Is it time?"

"You're just asking for it." Kie said before all of them started running to escape the security.

They ran around the house, towards the stairs, cheering and laughing. The adrenaline pumped through their veins as they made their getaway.

Kie and John B spilt up from the other three and made their way towards the van while JJ, Pope and Lucretia took the long way, loving the feeling of the rush.

"Hey! Stop! Get em' they're coming your way!" Gary exclaimed trying to catch the three but they just pushed, running towards the fence.

"Not much of a hugger man." JJ said breathlessly as a guard tried to catch him but he ran past him. "Go, Pope! Go! Go, go, go, go, go, go!"

Lucretia laughed when she saw Pope fall harshly on the ground as he jumped over the fence. "Quick, JJ!" She exclaimed, jumping over effortlessly after JJ as he ran past Pope, "Get up Pope, fatso's coming."

She rolled her eyes playfully while laughing and quickly helped Pope up before running towards the honking van.

"Come here, you little pricks!"

"Sorry can't do!" Lucretia yelled back, running backwards, facing towards the security and gave him a two finger salute.

"C'mon baby!" Kie called out to the other girl as the two boys jumped in the back of the van. She giggled and jumped in as well, breathing heavily.

Kie slid the door shut and leaned back in her seat as Gary ran behind the van.

"Check out Gary, gunnin' for a raise." Pope teased, catching his breath.

JJ slid the door back open, poking his upper body out and encouraged the security, "Come on, Gary!"

"Wait. Slow down." Lucretia said to John B, sticking out her head out of the van.

"Hey! You little pricks!"

"Gary! Stop it! You might pass out from your high cholesterol." She exclaimed, faking concern for him.

"You're gonna give him a heart attack." Kie pulled the back of their shirts, trying to pull them in.

Lucretia laughed and continued teasing Gary with JJ. "You're so close! You can do it. There you go." He said throwing a beer at him, making the guard groan and stop. "They don't pay you enough, bro"

"JJ, stop. Stop." Kie warned him giving him a playful pointy look and pulled both of them in.

"Oh, come on. That sort of initiative is just begging to be punished." He replied, sliding the door closed.

"Damn right." Lucretia agreed as everyone panted, catching their breaths from all the running and laughing. "Oldie doesn't get a hint to leave us alone like he has never been able to catch us then why try?"

"Exactly, he's fuckin' ancient!" Kie exclaimed, moving to the passenger seat and connecting her phone to the car speakers.

"Bruh, you better be playing my summer playlist." Lucretia sighed dramatically, taking a seat near the window, leaning her head back and wiping the sweat off of her forehead with the collar of her t-shirt.

JJ, who was sitting in front of her on the floor, leaned his head on her thighs and she started playing with his hair unconsciously.

"Duh." Kie said, flashing the screen of her phone to Lucretia, showing her the cover and title of her playlist.

Music flowed through the speakers loudly as everyone started either lightly singing or tapping to the beat. All of them were super happy from the good vibes and it officially felt like summer.

Lucretia sighed in content, resting her head on the window, smiling slightly as they passed a certain blue sign.

**WELCOME TO THE**

**OUTER BANKS**

**PARADISE ON EARTH**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> had to make a dramatic entrance for my kie baby cuz i'm in love with her but don't worry won't turn this into a kie fic.....unless....? jk jk 
> 
> tbh, lowkey hate this book cuz ITS SO SOFT i mean i freakin adore soft JJ but idk i want some hot scenes but it's physically painful for me to write them so 😭😭😭
> 
> anyway, hope y'all liked this shitty chapter, pls vote !!


	5. pogue party

The sun was high up in the sky, hiding in the clouds, giving the sky a soft yellow color. The crew was chilling on the HMS in the middle of the marsh, wearing their swim suits as John B fished by the bow of the boat while Kie sat on the side seats with her earphones in, scrolling through her phone.

Lucretia was intensely watching JJ's movements, practically bouncing with excitement as they sat by the stern of the boat.

"I'm so happy that I could cry right now." she said, dramatically fanning her hands over her face as JJ took out a couple of joints out of his pocket.

He chuckled and lit up one, taking a hit then passing it over to the girl beside him. She happily took a hit and sighed in content, dropping her head on the back of the boat. "You don't know how much I've dreamt about this moment."

"And you've said that about a hundred times." JJ retorted as he stood up to take off his shirt, getting a little sweaty from the summer heat and sat on the edge of the boat with one foot dipping in the water.

Lucretia passed him the joint after taking a hit and releasing the smoke up in the air as she stood up. He took the joint and did the same while she went up behind Pope, who was sitting infront of the captain's seat with his back pressed against it, engrossed in a book. She knocked on the top of the bucket hat on his head, popping her head beside his face staring at the page he had opened, "Whatcha readin'?"

He simply showed her the cover which read, FRANZ KAFKA on the top and proceeded to read furthur from where he left off.

"Hm, boring." She mumbled, moving furthur to where Kie was sitting and sat down beside her, laying her head on her shoulder, slightly startling her but relaxing as soon as she realised who it was.

"What are you listening to?" Lucretia asked her, looking up at her.

She slide down the notification centre and showed her the music player which read,

cherry flavoured

_⊲ Ⅱ ⊳_

_the neighbourhood_

She looked up with a huge grin covering her face, happy that after months of telling Kie to listen to her favourite artist, she finally did.

"Yeah, I finally listened to the playlist you made me and you've got me hooked to The Neighbourhood and Taylor Swift." Kie said, showing her the songs in her recently played.

"As you should." Lucretia replied and was gonna go on about all her other favourite artists that she should give a listen to but was interrupted by John B dropping a pile of fish by her and Kie's feet, resulting to them releasing chorused disgusted groans and Lucretia getting up from her seat to go to the back of the boat.

"Nice haul, dude. Look at that. Been all bait, for, like three weeks." JJ said, taking another hit of the joint while John B threw a fish near him.

"Ugh, gross."

"That's disgusting, JB." Lucretia commented as she went and stood infront of JJ, motioning him to pass her to the joint but instead he brought it up to her lips. She raised an questioning eyebrow at him to which he only replied by nodding towards the joint, signaling her to take a hit. She just shrugged and leaned down a little and took a hit, releasing the smoke on his face. JJ, who was watching her intently, gulped a little from her actions and brought the joint to his lips and took a hit, doing the same thing as her, maintaining eye contact the entire time.

Lost in their moment, they didn't realise that the other three watched all that go down until John B commented with a knowing smirk on his face, "Want us to leave you guys alone?"

Both of them snapped out of it and stood up straight like they got caught stealing shit, blushing like crazy.

"Shut up, JB." JJ said awkwardly scratching the back of his neck with the hand that wasn't holding the joint, subtly looking at Lucretia to his right who was turned away from him, looking down at her feet to hide her red face.

"Anyways, what are we doin' at the party tonight?" Kie spoke up sensing Lucretia's uncomfortableness.

"What we always do." John B answered in an obvious tone, packing up the fishes in a bucket. "Get drinks, talk to everyone."

"Well, it's already 4 and the party starts at 6 so we better head back now." Pope said closing his book.

"Yeah, okay." John B nodded, putting the bucket by the stern and got into the captain's seat, starting the engine.

Lucretia went and laid down on her chest with her ankles crossed in the air at the bow of the boat which was now fish-free while Kie and Pope sat at the side seats with Pope mumbling to himself and Kie still listening to music through her earphones.

JJ was sitting at the stern, deep in thought. He kept stealing glances at Lucretia, contemplating whether to go sit with her or not but decided against it.

She was leaning on her elbows, eyes occasionally closing from the peace of the wind in her hair. She sighed, dipping one hand in the water, watching it ripple as the boat moved through the marsh.

Suddenly she erupted into soft giggles when she saw two dolphins on the side keeping up with their boat. Shifting a little to the side, she watched them with a big grin on her face as they clicked.

The other four smiled softly when they saw her playing with the dolphins, happy seeing the girl having fun.

—

When they pulled up to the dock after a few minutes, Kie immediately took Lucretia inside the Chateau to the room her and JJ shared to get ready for the party.

"I don't really wanna dress up, Kie. Just give me some shorts and a shirt." Lucretia groaned as she flopped down on her side of the bed while Kie went through the drawers she kept her clothes in.

"Dude, all the pieces here are literally unmatchable."

"I know, I need to um...go back to my mom's so I can get more of my clothes since I only have limited space wardrobe space here, I just picked up whatever I saw first." She said looking down at her hands, fiddling with her fingers.

"When are you gonna go?" Kie asked, stopping her raid for a minute.

"Probably tomorrow or something."

"Do you want me to come with you? Or anyone to come with you?"

"Nah, I'll be fine, It'll only take a couple of minutes. I'll sneak in and out quickly." She shrugged, getting up from the bed and walking towards the drawers.

Kie opened her mouth to argue but closed it hesitantly, deciding to drop the topic, not wanting to upset the other girl.

"What about this?" Lucretia asked as she held up a white and pastel blue tie-dyed t-shirt and a ripped blue jean shorts.

"I was gonna say wear a summer dress but this could work I guess. Change quickly and help the boys set up, I'll get ready in the bathroom, okay?" She said walking out the room, closing the door behind her.

She quickly changed into the clothes, tying John B's dark blue bandana in her hair. She re-tied the laces of her lavender converse and left the room the same time as she came face-to-face with JJ who was gonna knock.

She smiled at him and stepped aside to let him use the room to change. He smiled back, stepping slightly inside the room with his hand on the door knob before he quickly took in her appearance.

"You...um..you look...nice."

She blushed and looked down, spinning one of the rings on her fingers. "It's nothing new, I dress like this everyday."

"And you look beautiful everyday." He said immediately without realising he said 'beautiful' instead of 'nice' like earlier.

Lucretia looked up at him and gave him a genuine smile with the evident red on her cheeks.

Both of them stood there, staring at eachother's eyes until a cough interrupted them.

"Do I need to tell y'all again or...?" John B looked at the two of them and raised his eyebrow.

She immediately went outside while JJ stepped completely inside the room, closing the door.

"Idiots." John B sighed and started the prep for the party.

—

People had started coming from over an hour ago and the party was in full swing now. Pogues from all over The Cut were there for the first party of the summer and even a few Tourons.

The music was playing loudly through the speakers as everyone drank cheap beer from their red cups. People were talking, laughing, making out in ever corner but everyone was enjoying themselves.

The Chateau was closed for anyone except the crew for obvious reasons. Kie was sitting near the bonfire with Lucretia's head on her shoulder as she sat beside her. She was ranting to some guy who was more interested in her than her rant on micro-plastics.

Lucretia was just zoned out on the fire, taking occasional sips from her can of Diet Coke as she felt someone come up behind them, blocking Kie in a headlock which caused her to lose her focus from the fire and slightly fall off from her.

She sat up straight and looked behind them and saw John B who apparently had nothing else to do. Kie immediately pushed him off of her and continued her rant with more hand movements which meant she was really into the topic now so Lucretia got up and went up beside John B, not wanting to be without anyone from the crew.

She never really liked parties, it just seemed pointless to her. She doesn't drink and isn't good with crowds so whenever the crew threw a party, she always stuck with one of the members or alone where no one was around.

John B threw an arm around her shoulders and walked towards the drink table.

"What are the other two doing?" She questioned, taking another sip from her can.

"Pope is by the porch, trying to flirt with Beth from English but is failing miserably." He said stopping by the table and refilling his drink.

"Let me guess, corpse talk?" They laughed and sat down under the tree by the Chateau.

"And the idiot?"

John B hesitated before answering, "Um, he's inside...with..Riley."

Lucretia's face dropped for a split second before replacing it with a disgusted grimace, "Ugh, out of everyone, Riley? He better wash the sheets, I'm not doing it for him."

"What? You're not....sad..?" John B questioned her with a surprised look on his face.

"Why would I be sad?"

"Because of your feelings for him!" He exclaimed, giving her a obvious look.

"First, I'm only sad because I will have to sleep on the pull-out today and second, I don't know how many times I have to say this but I do not like him." She said in a matter of factly way as someone shouted John B to come over to them.

"Oh please, You can't lie to me, Lucy. I know you have feelings for him. Keep denying it for all you want but you know you're lying to yourself." He said, getting up with his drink in his hand and went to the people who called him over, giving her a last look.

She sighed in frustration, throwing the back of her head against the trunk and closed her eyes.

"What's up, baby?" Kie asked as she came over and sat beside her, sensing her frustration.

"It's JJ." Lucretia answered hesitantly.

"What about him?" She furrowed her eyebrows and took a sip from her cup.

"It's just...ugh can I um rant for sec?" She asked opening her eyes and looking at her.

"Yeah, yeah of course. I'm always here to listen, you know that."

"He's in there with Riley, doing god knows what an-and I know that he can do whatever he wants but like it kinda hurts, you know? I mean it fucking sucks to like him sometimes. Like most of the times he's with me and I-I feel like he might have feelings for me too but what if it's just his way of being with friends in general? Like flirting and stuff? And the butterfly shit that he gives me makes me feel.....good but then he always goes and flirts or sleeps with other girls and then I just lose the slightest bit of hope that I have and it's the same shit all over again. Why did I have to fall for my best fucking friend? Why cant I just switch it off?" She finished releasing a big breath since she said all of that in one breath.

"Okay, first, calm down." Kie said, holding onto her shoulders and took slow breaths, indicating Lucretia to follow her breathing pattern for a few seconds.

"Now, listen to me. I'm 100% guaranteeing you that he's never the way around anyone else, the way he's with you. You should see him from others eyes honestly. He gets literal heart eyes whenever you walk into the room and whenever you're around, all his attention is on you. He notices every single thing about you and he's extra protective over you. And I know it's not gonna stop you from overthinking every little thing but please just know that that boy is fucking in love with you."

"But that doesn't explain why he's with other girls." She mumbled stubbornly, playing with the dirt on the ground.

"It's because he's scared, dumbass! Both of you are so oblivious and literal chickens to even acknowledge that the other one is returning the feelings!" She exclaimed, trying to explain it to the girl in the easiest way possible. "You're scared that he doesn't like you back. And he's scared that you don't like him back. If both of you stay scared all the fucking time, then nothing is ever going to happen. Babe, you take so many risks literally every single day, take this one too, I promise you, you will not regret it."

"But what if it ruins our friendship?" She whispered, releasing a shaky breath, not really believing the words of her friend but still taking the possibilities.

"It won't, Lu, I'm telling you. If anything, you will be happy, the both of you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, literally this chapter is whatever but like i wanted to add as many non-canon scenes as possible so like it kinda feels like i actually came up with something u know ??
> 
> pls tell me if it's getting too fluffy or anything or something that i need to change cuz i'm getting super insecure for some reason. 
> 
> and who do u wanna see her relationship more with ? 
> 
> anyway i hope y'all liked the chapter
> 
> until next time <3


	6. claudia alice

**TRIGGER WARNING** : slight physical abuse and if u have a bad relationship with ur mom, this might be a little triggering for u.

Lucretia really hated waking up in the morning.

She really didn't get the point, wake up, then barely scrape through the day then go to sleep again, it's a never ending cycle.

Sometimes she wished that she could just freeze time and do whatever the fuck she wanted to do. Or her dreams would last forever and she wouldn't have to wake up.

Overall she just hated reality.

Why live in the crappy reality when you could stay in your own universe, am I right?

She yawned, groaning lightly as she woke up from the morning light that fell on her face from the window. Sighing, she stretched a little before looking to her right to see Kie scrolling on her phone with a vape in her hand.

"Morning, Kie." Lucretia rasped shifting closer to the girl and wrapping a hand around her waist, hugging her in greeting.

"Morning, Lu." She replied, hugging her back.

"Morning, girls." John B greeted as he came out from the bathroom after closing the door of the other room with a disgusted face.

The two mumbled a morning greeting back to him with Kie throwing up a peace sign at him. He smiled at them, picking up a photo frame from the table at the side which they took down yesterday because of the party.

He put it back up on the wall, gazing at the picture of his parents, no doubt thinking about them. Lucretia noticed that and unwrapped herself from Kie. She got up from her comfortable position, sighing softly, going up behind him and hugging his waist from the back to give him some comfort.

John B smiled at her gratefully, kissing her forehead lightly before cheering Uncle Teddy's picture and unwrapped himself from Lucretia and walked outside the Chateau. "I'm gonna chill on the hammock for a bit. I've gotta leave for my meeting with DCS in 15."

She merely nodded and turned to Kie, "I think I'm gonna go to mom's right now...."

That grabbed her attention as she quickly put her phone away and sat up, "I can drive you—"

"It's a ten-minute walk, I think I can manage." She cut her off, re-tying her hair into a presentable ponytail.

"I really don't think you should go alone, Lu."

"I'll be fine, Kie. Stop worrying." She said and walked into the bathroom to freshen up a bit. Her face slightly fell as she walked past the other room, hearing really suggestive sounds coming from there. She shaked her head lightly, knowing that JJ had some girl in the room with him from last night's party, doing god knows what.

Quickly washing her face in the bathroom, she got out and took a shirt which belonged to John B from the laundry basket with a pair of shorts that belonged to her since she couldn't really go into her and JJ's room to get fresh clothes.

Swiftly changing her clothes in the living room, she took her phone and earphones from the coffee table along with her backpack in which she would get her clothes and headed for the door before stopping by the pull-out.

"Um, maybe don't tell the others, where I went...?" She trailed off, looking at Kie with pleading eyes.

"Why?"

"You know why, they will go nuts that I went there alone like I need a fuckin' bodyguard to protect me." She said rolling her eyes. "I'm completely capable of doing shit on my own and I also—I just...don't want them to be worried about me."

"We're always gonna be worried 'bout you, Lu." She said looking at her with soft eyes.

"I know, I know, just please don't tell them. Pinky promise?" She asked extending her pinky out towards her.

Kie sighed and linked her pinky with her's, shaking it slightly.

Lucretia smiled at her one last time before leaving out the door, seeing Pope fast asleep on the couch so she opened the porch door as quietly as she could and walked outside.

John B was on the hammock so she easily slipped away and started walking towards her house. She plugged in her earphones to her phone and put her phone in her back pocket before playing the most recent playlist she made.

After four songs, she reached her street. Slowing down her pace, she removed her earphones from her ears, putting them in her pocket.

Her house came into view as she turned around the corner. She walked up to it, sneaking around the back towards her room's window as fast as she could.

"Okay, Lucretia, you can do this." She whispered to herself and took a couple of deep breaths.

She pushed up the window quietly and slipped inside, closing it.

Looking around, everything looked untouched meaning her mom didn't come in here at all. She walked towards her closet and opened it, stuffing as many clothes as she could in her bag, grabbing some bracelets and rings from her drawers too.

Zipping up the bag, she closed the cupboard and walked back to the window but stopping midway, contemplating whether to go and check in with her mom or not.

It wasn't like, Lucretia didn't give a fuck about her mother at all. She loved her, a lot but after the death of her father, who meant the world to Lucretia, her mom started blaming her for his death which was really fucking stupid since he died from a boating accident but she needed someone or something to blame and Lucretia was just there.

After her dad's death, Claudia started relying on alcohol which made her more of an asshole because she literally had no control over herself and made her daughter feel like absolute shit.

Lucretia feared that one day her mother would actually physically hurt her so she stayed far away from her but she always came back to check on her to make sure she was okay. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't stay away, it was in her nature. For some reason she always felt guilty about how she wasn't a good daughter or any one of the things that her mom blamed her for.

She stepped into the living room after closing her bedroom door, clutching the straps of her backpack. Unlike her bedroom which looked completely untouched and tidy, the rest of the house was a complete mess.

Empty beer bottles were littering on the floor, the kitchen counters, the coffee table. Some was spilled on the little carpet under the table. Unwashed dishes overflowing from the kitchen sink, just overall it literally looked like a storm hit the house but in reality it was just her mother who was nowhere to be found right now.

Releasing a breath, she looked around, taking in the mess and called out, "Mom?"

Getting no answer in return, she walked towards her mom's room and slowly opened the door just to see her passed out on her bed with another beer bottle perched up on the nightstand.

Lucretia looked at her with glossy eyes, shaking her head and silently closed the door, careful to not wake her up. Coming back to the living room, she dropped her bag on the floor in the corner of the room and stepped into the kitchen, picking up a trash bag so she could clean up everything.

She started from picking up all the beer bottles from everywhere then swept up the room and cleaned all the kitchen counters.

Midway through doing the dishes, she heard her phone go off loudly. Rapidly drying her hands, she turned off the faucet and grabbed her phone from her front pocket and put it on silent mode, praying to the universe that her mom didn't wake up from the sound but her prayers went unanswered because she heard footsteps nearing the living room. Claudia appeared in the doorway, swaying slightly, obviously wasted.

"Where the fuck have you been?" She slurred stepping towards the kitchen, just a few feet away from Lucretia causing her to take a couple of steps back.

"At John B's." She answered, looking everywhere but her.

"At John B's." Claudia scoffed. "What about school? Have you been attending? Or are you ditching that too like all your other responsibilities?"

"I-It's summer, mom. I attended everyday before summer started and....what other responsibilities are you talking about?" She softly asked, not wanting to piss her off.

"Like you're never home. Always out with the trashy friends of yours. The house is so dirty and you never clean. Your dad would be so disappointed in you. Do you even care about me?"

There she goes, playing the victim again, Lucretia thought and released a harsh breath, starting to lose her cool. She didn't care about her mom giving her shit but bringing her friends and especially her dad in it was not it. Unable to holdback anymore, she replied quite coldly.

"First of all, this is not my home because it never feels like it and talk shit about me for all you want, don't ever bring my friends into it because you don't know anything about them or me. And dad?" She scoffed. "He would be more disappointed in you than with me because what a shit of a mom you really are and it's not my fucking job to clean the house when you go around drinking everyday and messing up the house. And you really wanna talk about caring? If I didn't care then why would I clean the house everytime I stop by? Why do I still hope that you would become the mom that you were back before dad died? I try so fucking hard everyday to make you proud but it's never enough. The real question here is that, do you care, mom?"

After she finished, she knew she fucked up. Not even believing that she said all of that, she looked at her mom with wide eyes and lips parted. Even though Claudia deserved it, Lucretia knew that the outcome would be pretty messy, especially since she hasn't even said a word yet.

So she quickly started making her way towards the door, going to pass by her mom but was stopped when her hand harshly gripped her forearm, no doubt leaving a bruise.

Lucretia panicky eyes met her angry ones, waiting for her to scream at her but was met by a hard slap on her left cheek, her head being thrown to the right as the slap ringed out.

She slowly turned her head back, staring at her mom with watery eyes, not believing she did what she did. But Claudia just grabbed the back of her hair in her fist which made Lucretia grunt in pain and brought her face close to hers and spat, "You never talk to me like that again, understood?" She nodded fearfully, trying to break free from her grasp.

"You will never be enough and you know it." She whispered at her hatefully while Lucretia finally was able to break free by pushing her down which caused her mom to fall down as she was still drunk. She quickly picked her bag up from the corner and ran to the door, throwing it open and fled outside with tears now freely running down her cheeks as Claudia's insults blurred out, the farther she ran.

After running for almost five minutes, she slowed down her pace and leaned against a tree. She was almost at the Chateau but it hit her that what would she tell the crew as there was no doubt a bruise on her cheek from getting slapped and one on her wrist. Even though they weren't that noticeable, if you were up close then you would probably notice it.

She slid down the trunk, sitting on the grass and rested her head back on the trunk, trying to control her breathing. She aggressively wiped her tears and whispered to herself, letting out wheezed breaths in between sentences, "You shouldn't be affected by this, it's such a small thing, stop crying."

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, digging her nails into her palms, trying to take deep breaths to control her laboured breathing.

Finally after two minutes, she got it on track and wiped the remaining tears, sighing loudly as her phone went off mutiple times. She picked up her phone, seeing 6 messages from Kie and 2 from JJ. Unlocking it, she opened Kie's first, shaking her head at the messages then replying.

**kie baby 🧚🏻♀️🦋✨**

**TODAY, 1:36 PM**

are u done??

reply fast, lu i'm worried bout u

i told the guys that u went for a walk cuz u were bored

im seriously getting really worried now

where tf are u??

pls just tell me you're okay

i got out now, don't worry i'm okay and i'm almost there

After texting her back, she opened JJ's message, replying to him as well.

**maybitch 🌊**

**TODAY, 1:48PM**

hey, kie told us you're out for a walk

rude of u to go without me but bring me back a chocolate bar, pretty please??

yeah okay

She got up from her spot under the tree, taking a couple of deep breaths, calming from her breakdown and walked down to the store near the Chateau to get the chocolate for JJ.

—

She reached the Chateau, really mentally exhausted. The rest of the two minute walk back after her breakdown consisted of stealing a chocolate bar for JJ since she realised she was out of money after reaching the store and overthinking everything that happened back at her mom's house which drained her completely.

It was kinda evident on her face right now but she would put on a facade when she saw her friends which was pretty easy for her.

She walked towards the porch door but turned around when she heard her name being called from the shed.

All of her friends were sitting around the coffee table and waved their hands, telling her to come over there. Lucretia raised five fingers at them indicating that's she'll be out there in five minutes, needing to freshen up.

She went inside, dropping her bag on the pull-out and walked inside the bathroom, locking the door. She rested her hands on the counter and looked up at herself in the mirror.

Her ponytail was pretty messed up because of her mom grabbing it, the tip of her left cheekbone was red, slightly turning purple. She looked down at her wrist which had a very evident bruise of someone grabbing it.

"Shit." She muttered, letting out a breath of frustration. There was no way she could hide it. When she could easily lie to the whole crew, she couldn't lie to JJ. He always found out.

She took out her hair tie from her hair and re-tied her hair. Turning on the sink, she splashed her face a couple of times before drying it with a towel kept by the sink.

She was contemplating whether to go out now or not when a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Crystal?" JJ's voice ringed out from the other side of the door.

"Yeah?" She answered in a somewhat nervous tone.

"What are you doing?"

"Just, um, washing my face."

"Can I come in? I need to talk to you." He questioned, tapping a rhythmic beat on the door out of impatience.

Lucretia widened her eyes, trying to think of excuses to deal with this later cause she would end up crying as she was still having an inner battle with herself about the whole situation but thought that she had to face him one way or another so she just unlocked the door for him to come in before turning back, pretending to be busy with washing her hands to distract herself but her hands were already shaking slightly.

"Hi, I haven't seen you since yesterday before the party." He greeted her, leaning against the counter on her right, looking at her.

"Hey." She greeted him back, giving him a quick smile.

"Okay so, I wanted to talk to you about—" He cut himself off when he saw her hands shaking slightly when she tried to dry them after turning the sink off, her breaths appearing to be slightly shaky too.

"Hey what's wrong?" He asked worriedly, stepping closer to her, taking her hands in his but paused when he saw a bruise on her wrist which was clearly evident that it was roughly grabbed.

"Is that a bruise?" The boy questioned in a very low, angry tone. He looked down at her and placed his hand on her right cheek and turned her head towards him, spotting a bruise on her left cheekbone as well and let out a really angry breath.

"What the fuck happened, Lucretia?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just to clear it up, i'm in no form romanticising abuse, it's a pretty serious thing.
> 
> i'm so sorry if this chapter made u uncomfortable or anything, i just wanted to give y'all an insight on her home life and i also was kinda venting here.
> 
> anyway, i didn't know how to end this so this is what you're gonna get im so sorry 😭
> 
> hope y'all liked the chapter  
> until next time <3


	7. hurricane agatha

He used her name.

When the pair met at the age of 7, JJ straight up asked Lucretia her full name and claimed calling her 'Crystal' because he wanted a different name for himself since anyone she was close with called her either 'Lu' or 'Lucy'. And since then he has never called her by her first name except for one time. He did that when he was dead serious or really fucking angry.

At the age of 11, Lucretia was the first one to know about the shit JJ goes through, it was getting pretty serious now and the bruises were a dead giveaway to what was happening so he opened up to her. That day was the angriest he had ever seen her.

_The two eleven year old's sat side to side on a broken piece of a tree at the Boneyard, watching the sunset in silence until suddenly Lucretia spoke up._

_"You never answered my question at school today." She said with a hesitant tone, taking quick glances at him._

_"What question?" He looked at her questioningly, playing with a bracelet around his wrist._

_"What happened to your lip?" She asked gesturing to his busted lip._

_That made JJ freeze, trying to think of excuses so he wouldn't have to answer her but his mind was a complete blank._

_How does he say that his father hit him?_

_The things he said to him had deeply affected him. 'You're a worthless piece of shit' or 'Your mother never loved you', the list goes on and on but that would really scar in the brain of a literal kid._

_JJ has seen the parents of all the other kids. They don't hit their children, instead they come to pick them up from school or take them out for ice cream and get them whatever they want but in his case it was always walking back alone, not even having money for ice cream or anything else he wanted._

_That was until Lucretia and John B came into his life. They were the family he never had. They walked back home with him, contributed money to get one ice cream that they could share together and just being there for him._

_John B was a brother to him, sharing comic books, talking about some video games they can't afford or just doing all the guy stuff._

_But with Lucretia it was different. She was his best friend. He could share every single thought of his with her without any judgement coming from her. They would spend their free time together at the Boneyard if John B was busy with something. It was like their sacred place. Even though, a lot of people knew about that place and were there, Lucretia and JJ would go to their secluded spot and sit there either talking about anything and everything or in complete silence for hours._

_He knew he could tell her anything and she would understand and not judge him. She would always, always be there for him so without wasting a second he blurted, "My dad."_

_She gave him a confused look and questioned, "....your dad?"_

_"My dad....uh, he hit me because I asked him if we could go out in the water and when he said no, I wouldn't stop pestering him. He's n-never hit me before, only yelling but I think he finally lost it. Said that I'm worthless and um that m-mom never loved me." He answered, looking down with pressure building up in his throat and behind his eyes._

_He expected Lucretia to say something but all her heard was the sound of waves hitting the shore and the cawing of seagulls. He looked at her just to see her staring at the horizon with a hard face and her jaw clenched._

_Another minute passed when suddenly Lucretia angrily got up and starting storming towards the exit. JJ quickly stood up and held her wrist to stop her. "Where are you going?"_

_"To get your father's head straight." She said with the coldest voice JJ has ever heard her voice be, trying to pull her wrist from his hold._

_"No, no, please Crys. It will mess with everything and not to mention you could get hurt." He said, letting go of her wrist and holding her shoulders instead._

_"He freaking hit you, JJ! Do you think I'm gonna let that go? I'm going to talk to him so let me_ _go."_

_"Talking is not gonna solve anything. So please stop, Lucretia!"_

_That made her stop trying to pull away him and she looked him in the eyes. He had never called her by her first name. It was always 'Crys' or 'Crystal'. So when she actually looked at him and saw him trying to hold back his tears and the lump in his throat was evident in his voice, she stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck._

_He responded quickly by hugging her by her waist and digging his face into her neck. His breathing started to get rigged and the tears were now freely falling from his eyes to her neck._

_Lucretia just let him cry, knowing that he needed to let it out. She raked her fingers through his hair and occasionally planted innocent kisses on his temple to provide him comfort as she tried to hold back her own tears from seeing her best friend in so much pain._

_Once his sobs died down to sniffles, she gently pulled away a little and pushed back the hair falling on his forehead with one head and wiped his tears with another._

_She pulled him towards the broken piece of the tree they were sitting on and sat on it again. Taking out her water bottle from her backpack, she opened the cap and handed it to him, gesturing him to drink it. He gladly took it, his throat sore from crying so much and took a few sips before handing it back to her as she kept it back._

_She fully turned her body towards him and gently took his hands in hers and sighed softly, "I know what you're thinking, J. It's completely okay to cry, it doesn't make you weak. You're so strong and I'm proud of you, okay? The things that your dad said....are not true. Please don't believe him. You deserve so so_ _much, If I could, I would give you all the happiness in the world. What your dad did, it's so messed up, I can't believe you have to go through that...but JJ I'm always, always here for you, come over whenever, it's okay. My dad loves having you there."_

_That earned her a chuckle from him while she continued, "The point is, everything your dad said is absolutely false. You're golden, JJ. Please don't think otherwise, there are people who love you and know how much you're worth so please just keep this in mind, okay?"_

_As she finished, JJ let out a shaky breath and looked at her, his glossy eyes full of admiration, "Thank you."_

_"It's really nothing."_

_"No, no, seriously, thank you for being in my life. I really don't know what I'd do without you, Crys." He said, holding her hands tighter._

_"I'm not going anywhere, J. You can't get rid of me that easily." She replied playfully and dropped her head onto his shoulder, now focusing on the sun sinking in the ocean._

_"Please just tell me when you need anything anytime, I'm there for you no matter what. Pinky promise." Lucretia whispered, extending her pinky towards him._

_He linked his pinky loosely and whispered back, "The same goes for you, Crystal."_

_They just sat there for another hour, holding onto eachother's hands and watching the ocean, having no clue about their developing feelings for eachother._

Thoughts were crashing into Lucretia's brain like bullets but the one thing she knew was that she had to tell the truth. It wasn't like she was scared of telling him but she was scared of his reaction, if he decided to go on a rampage, she wouldn't be able to stop him.

JJ knew that she panicking by her shaky breaths and her not being able to maintain eye contact with him so he gently turned her chin towards him, looked her in the eye and said, "Please, tell me, Crystal. I need to know who hurt you."

She released a nervous breath, looking up at the ceiling to hold back her tears, her voice cracking as she answered him nervously, "M-my mom."

Looking away from the ceiling she waited for his reaction. He felt confused and angry at the same time but maintained his anger for the sake of her.

"What happened? Why did you even go back?"

"I-I just needed more of my stuff and I was just gonna sneak in and out really quick but a-after I got my things, I thought I would check up on her but she was passed out in her room and the house was a mess so I decided to clean it and leave quickly b-but then my phone went off and it woke her up then she came out and spit all her usual bullshit at me and she brought up you guys along with d-dad— I couldn't hold back so I said some really mean things to her...one thing lead to another...." She released a breath after finishing, saying all of that in one breath and waited for him to say something.

"Why didn't you take anyone with you? Or just me?" He asked her with nothing but pain for her in his voice. It really hurt him to see her go through the same stuff he goes through.

"It's just....I f-feel like um I'm just being a burden and it gets annoying and it seems like I can't do anything on my own without needing anyone's help. And besides you were....busy." She shrugged.

"Crystal....I'm so sorry." He started to apologise but was cut off by her. "It's not your fault."

"No but I promised you that I'm was going to be there for you, no matter what— I failed and you got hurt and I was—"

"It's not your fault, JJ, please."

He shook his head and looked away from her, releasing a breath. "You're not a burden, Crys. It's not annoying at all, I care about you— we care about you and we're always gonna worry because all of us love you so please take anyone or atleast me with you next time."

"I will, I will, I promise." She said nodding her head.

JJ sighed and stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck and dug her face into his shoulder.

She didn't cry, just the remaining tears that were already built up in her eyes, fell from her eyes and seeped into the blue hoodie he was wearing. He occasionally planted kisses in her hair for comfort as they soaked eachother's presence.

After a minute Lucretia pulled away, taking a bandana from the sink counter, tying it around her wrist and sighed, "We better go out now."

He nodded and gestured her to go out first as they walked back to the crew.

—

It was around 5 o'clock now and the winds had started to pick up because of the upcoming storm. The sky was getting slightly darker but the teenagers decided to hang a little more anyway.

They did see the bruise on her cheek but Lucretia made up a plausible lie and the crew believed her, Kie was little skeptic but she decided to let it go for the meantime.

John B had excused himself a few minutes ago and was sitting on the dock with his knees up against his chest, lost in thought.

The group was talking about a local woman, Mrs. Jefferson, laughing at a memory that happened at the Swamp. Lucretia was kinda out of it, zoned out at a distance. She soon excused herself as well, wanting to talk to John B about his DCS meeting.

She walked the short distance between the shed and the dock and sat beside him in the same manner he was sitting in, lightly bumping her shoulders against his, making him aware of her appearance.

"What's up?" He asked her, turning his body so he could face her and leaned his back against the wood.

"Nothing, just wanted to ask how your DCS meeting went."

"The usual bullshit, said they wanted to 'help' me."

"Assholes." She mumbled, looking out at the water. "What else?"

"I lied....um, I said that Uncle T was still here so they said they're gonna come to meet him tomorrow but thanks to Ms. Agatha, they won't." He said shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm sorry, dude. This is so shitty." She sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"It's okay. I just....I wish he was still here. I wish I would've done things differently."

The night before the day Big John left was...rough to say atleast. Lucretia and John B were sitting on the kitchen counters, doing their homework as Big John came out from his office and told them with a bit hesitance that he had to leave again to search for the gold.

While Lucretia was sad that he had to leave, she also understood that this was the one thing he wanted so badly but she also wished he was more present in their or mainly John B's life.

He bitched a lot about his father to her, like how he was never present and blindly chasing this gold that didn't even seem real to him. She did understood why he felt this way. After his mom left, Big John was all he had and him leaving all the time, just made him incredibly sad.

Even for Lucretia, after her dad passed away, her friends were there for her but Big John filled in the void. Her mom did a complete 180 so it resulted in her spending a whole lot more time at the Chateau, as per Big John's orders. So she practically lived with them and he had become a second father to her as she became a daughter he never had.

John B and Big John did frequently argue but those weren't as bad as the current one. While she took the news fairly well, John B _flipped_ out. He went as far as slamming the kitchen counter really hard and literally screaming on top of his lungs.

Lucretia knew that she wasn't supposed to be a part of this so she hesitantly left through the front door and sat down on the porch steps. She heard every single word John B said to his father with her head resting on the porch door frame. She waited and waited until her pissed off bestfriend came out storming out of the house, making sure every step of his was stomped and every door he closed, slammed shut.

She nervously got up to follow him but he gave her a quick single that he wanted to be alone and stormed off to the dock. Sighing, she went inside to say goodbye to Big John, not knowing it was the last time they would ever see him.

"John B...it wasn't your fault, you were right in your place, okay?" Lucretia comforted him by placing a hand on his shoulder and looked at him with sorrowful eyes.

He nodded, looking down and whispered, "I miss him."

"Me too. Both of them." She said, mumbling the last part but he heard her anyway, knowing she was talking about her dad too. He wrapped a hand around her shoulders as she dropped her head on his, both of them just sat there for a while until the wind started blowing harder and a little droplets of water started falling from the grey sky.

They stood up and jogged up to the porch while the other three who sat in the shed, made their way over as well.

"I gotta head home now." Kie said taking her keys out of the front pocket of her shorts.

All of them nodded reluctantly and told her to go carefully as she stepped forward to hug Lucretia briefly and softly mumbling in her ear before pulling away, "We gotta talk tomorrow, okay?" Earning a nod from her as she raced down to her car, quickly starting the engine and driving off.

The other four went inside while the rain picked up, the light showers turning into needle like rain drops. They dropped down on the open pull out couch, silence consuming them for a while before John B sat up quickly, looking at them with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"We should go surfing."

While the other two boys were thinking of going through with it, Lucretia spoke up, "Y'all go, I'm exhausted and also, don't wanna die from a fuckin' storm."

"You're the one who says, 'you only live once'. C'mon Lucy."

"You only live _once_ , JB. So I'll appreciate it if I don't die in the storm. And, it's like one of the lamest way to die." She protested still holding her ground.

"Alright, okay, what about you two?" John B asked turning to them.

"Yeah I'm down but I'll go straight home after or else my dad will kill me." Pope said getting up, ready to go.

"I'm gonna...pass." JJ replied, scratching the back of his neck, not wanting to leave Lucretia all alone.

John B and Pope exchanged knowing looks and shook their heads, quickly biding them goodbye and getting a 'be safe' from the girl. They raced outside to the shed to collect their surfboards and left hurriedly.

JJ got up from where he was sitting and headed to the kitchen. He opened the freezer and took out an ice pack and came back to the living room, handing it to Lucretia. She gave him a thankful look and pressed it to her bruised cheek.

He dropped down next to her as they talked about anything that came to their minds while the storm got messier.

—

John B opened the front door of the Chateau, dripping wet from the storm and the saltwater when he returned after 2-3 hours just to see the two of his best friends passed out on the couch.

He shook his head knowingly and went inside the bathroom to dry off. He came out a few minutes after and walked back to the pull-out coach where the two were fast asleep and threw a blanket over them.

He double checked all the windows and doors and made sure they were closed and headed to room, completely exhausted from surfing. As soon as he lied down, he was out like a light.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright, here u go, pretty shitty but whatever
> 
> i’ll try n add more kie n lucy & more pope n lucy scenes in the next ones
> 
> updates will be really slow now since i got my final exams’ dates which is two months away but i gotta study really hard for it so :( 
> 
> also, i made a playlist for lucretia & jj but idk how to link it here :(

**Author's Note:**

> hi ao3 is fucking confusing but i wanted to post on here as well, this book is originally written on wattpad but it getting kinda shitty there now.
> 
> if u wanna read on wattpad, it’s under the same name, the user is :
> 
> -stilesmaybank


End file.
